At present, all anti-armor missile systems carry the propulsion units (boost and flight motors) internally, i.e., inside the missile fuselage. When these motors have "burned out", i.e. provided all of their propulsive energy to the missile for acceleration downrange, they become parasitic weight and make no other contribution to the flight of the missile. Externally mounted propulsion units (boosters) which can be jettisoned after the transfer of their energy to the missile allow the remaining missile components to be packaged in a smaller, separate volume, thereby reducing the frontal area of the missile. Upon release of the boosters in a kinetic energy missile application, the drag on the missile that had been caused by the externally mounted boosters is eliminated. This enables the low-drag centerbody of the missile to maintain a high velocity for a much longer period of time than it would otherwise and thereby increase drastically its effectiveness.